The South Korean Navy said Thursday it has launched a new guided missile frigate which is capable of hitting ground targets inside North Korean in the event of conflict taking place on the divided peninsula.Earlier in the day, the Navy held a ceremony to launch the 2,800-ton frigate named Daegu on Geoje Island, 470 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according to Navy officials.The ship, an improved Incheon-class frigate, not only has ship-to-ground missiles, but will be equipped with the usual array

June 2, 2016

The South Korean Navy said Thursday it plans to join the Rim of the Pacific exercise, a U.S.-led biennial multinational naval drill, which will kick off late June, in a bid to boost the combat capability of its ships and crew.A group of about 700 servicemen from the Navy and Marine Corps will take part in this year's RIMPAC, which will be held from June 30 to Aug. 4 in waters off Hawaii, according to military officials.The Navy said it plans to send three warships including the Aegis-equipped Se

June 2, 2016

The United States should consider jointly handling nuclear weapons with South Korea and Japan so as to prevent the key Asian allies from seeking nuclear armament of their own, a U.S. expert has suggested.Evan Braden Montgomery, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, put forward the "combined nuclear planning and nuclear sharing" idea in a recent report, saying the allies could consider independent nuclear armament if North Korea's nuclear capability surges."How mi

June 2, 2016

More than half of South Korea's senior Army officers are either obese or overweight, many of them gaining weight with age and because of their career-related lifestyle, a study showed Monday.Based on body mass index, 34.9 percent were found to be obese while 25.9 percent were assessed as overweight, according to the study conducted jointly by Prof. Park Jung-sook of Keimyung University's Nursing College and a team led by Prof. Chang Soon-yang of Daegu University's Nursing Department. The study r

May 30, 2016

South Korean Navy's Aegis destroyers will get an upgraded missile launch system that will allow them to intercept North Korean ballistic missiles, a government source said Sunday.The Navy is moving to install new vertical missile launch systems on its three King Sejong the Great class ships that will allow them to launch the longer range SM-3 and SM-6 ship-to-air missiles, said the military source who declined to be identified.    At present, the ships are only able to fire off the SM-2 missiles

May 29, 2016

A recent hacking attempt on South Korea's Air Force's website apparently used methods mostly employed by North Korean hackers, a military source said Friday, raising suspicion that Pyongyang might have been behind the cyberattack.Military authorities have been conducting an investigation into a suspected hacking attempt into the official website of the Air Force after a malicious code was found on May 11. It remains shutdown, and a temporary website has been in operation."We cannot determine who

May 27, 2016

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump brought up the suggestion of allowing South Korea and Japan to develop their own nuclear weapons "as a negotiating point," a senator considered the top foreign policy adviser to Trump said Thursday.Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) said in an interview with CNN that the nuclear armament remark came as Trump underscored the point that South Korea and Japan should pay more for U.S. defense support, but that does not mean he advocated the idea."With regard to

May 27, 2016

A U.S. senator proposed Thursday that next year's defense budget bill include calls for deployment of the THAAD missile defense system in South Korea to beef up defense against growing nuclear and missile threats from North Korea.Sen. Cory Gardner, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific, made the proposal in an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, citing "an imminent and growing threat" from the North."It is the sen

May 27, 2016

South Korea's defense and technology ministries on Thursday discussed the feasibility of creating a cybersecurity reserve force in preparation for a national network emergency.The idea was raised at a senior-level meeting between the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning aimed at strengthening cooperation in defending the country from security threats."The two sides discussed ways to form a government-civilian cyber reserve force," the ICT ministry sai

May 26, 2016

The South Korean Navy and Air Force on Thursday conducted a joint firing exercise in the country's waters off its east coast in a bid to boost their capacity to hit North Korean warships with guided missiles, military officials said.The drill involved South Korea's warships and planes' conducting attacks on imaginary North Korean naval corvettes, according to officials."The drill helped us strengthen the war fighting capabilities of the Navy and Air Force to conduct joint military missions and t

May 26, 2016

South Korea has deployed the latest upgraded model of Apache helicopters, which are expected to enhance its overall combat capability, the country's defense procurement agency said Thursday.According to the Defense Acquisition Procurement Administration, four AH-64E Guardians were delivered to Army units, which recently completed combat deployment. The four are the first to reach front-line South Korean combat units.The agency signed a $1.6 billion contract with the U.S. in 2013 to buy 36 AH-64E

May 26, 2016

South Korea's defense chief will leave for Singapore early next month to attend a regional security meeting where he will exchange views on North Korea's nuclear provocation and other mutual issues, Seoul's officials said Wednesday.Defense Minister Han Min-koo will join the Asia Security Summit to be held from June 3-5 in Singapore, according to the defense ministry. The summit, also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, is an annual security meeting organized by the International Institute of Strat

May 25, 2016

South Korea's defense procurement agency said Wednesday it plans to import arms worth about 3.5 trillion won ($3 billion) this year in a bid to enhance its defense capabilities.South Korea plans to spend about 9 percent of this year's defense budget of 38.8 trillion won to buy weaponry from overseas, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration.It said the government plans to spend an average of 3.5 billion won per contract to import weapons from foreign suppliers.Amid North Korea

May 25, 2016

South Korea’s Air Force website has been experiencing problems for 13 days due to an unidentified hacking attack, local officials said Wednesday.An official said the Air Force suspended its website operations from the early morning of May 12 when malicious code was found in it.The Air Force is currently operating a temporary website to provide public services such as information on conscription and other notices that affect the public.The armed forces branch and the military’s Cyber Warfare Comm

May 25, 2016

A U.S. Senate defense budget bill for next year calls for setting aside US$7.5 million to strengthen the Air Force's seismic technologies program to better detect nuclear tests, congressional records showed Tuesday.The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 authorizes the fund for the Air Force Research Laboratory's seismic technologies program, saying the program is a key component in efforts to identify and monitor nuclear activity."The committee notes with concern the continu

May 25, 2016

South Korea plans to seek ways to increase military cooperation with Africa as President Park Geun-hye embarks on her trip to three African countries including Uganda this week, a government official said Tuesday.Seoul's move will help weaken North Korea's military network with Africa and make it possible to strengthen cooperation over the international sanctions regime imposed on the communist country, according to the official.The chief executive will embark on her African tour and trip to Fra

May 24, 2016